Advertisement
I have spent 24 hours in Medellin and I am SO MUCH happier than I ever expected to be.
For starters, the airport is a 40 minute drive up and over a mountain, and the city of Medellin is already at an altitude of 5000 feet, so you can imagine how beautiful the scene is and how fresh the air feels. The city is HUGE and covers a large valley in between some of the andean mountains. In the airplane from Panama City, despite how tired I was, I could not stop staring at the scenery. I watched the patchwork farms slow-fade into the ocean's arms (Postal Service anyone?). It was unbelievable going between the mountains and the valleys and the hills and the farms and the gulf and alllll of that. Towns seemed so small and sparse, and for the most part there were only sporadic houses dotting random areas. Then we flew over a mountain, the turbulence got a little bumpy, and BAM- there was a huge crowded pink city overtaking this massive valley. Unbelievable. It made me want to skydive! But don't worry mom, I won't.
Anyway, I get to the hostel and they are setting up for a barbecue which I signed up for immediately. While I was waiting for the massive amounts of food to be prepared, I read my book out on the very comfortable hammock out on their balcony. My hostel is in a quaint and quieter part of the city called Poblado. Apparently, if you are from this area, you have money. It is by no means gaudy, though, just pretty and close to everything I could need/want to be close to. At the barbecue I at delicious salads and chicken and meat and chatted with some very nice people from Ireland and England. They have all gone everywhere in south america and it is fun to hear their stories.
Today is a national bank holiday, a day on which nobody in the country works. When you ask someone what the holiday is for, nobody can tell you because there are so many throughout the year and it doesn't matter. It is just a day of relaxation and a chance for families to take trips for the long weekend. That was really lucky for me, because the woman who directs the volunteers of my program was able to pick me and this other woman Sasha up and give us a day-long orientation and tour of the city. Sasha is from Switzerland. She is a 34 year-old phys ed teacher who is here completely randomly, just as I am. She is very nice and I think she and I are going to do some hiking and outdoor adventures together, possibly with the director.
The director's name is Sam, and she is already one of the most wonderful people I have ever met. She is Gwenyth Paltrow's identical twin (and I am sticking to it). Absolutely beautiful. More than that, she has volunteered her whole life, in addition to working and making a living. She is originally from London, she spent some years in Asia, and she is now married to a Colombian man named Gabriel and has lived here for 4 years. She contacted Jim Elliot, who runs Globalteer from London, in order to set up the Colombia Kids Project here because she did not feel that she was doing enough. She is an optimistic, bright, smiling, generous, helpful, beautiful human being, and she is still so young (i think). Her husband seems just as great. They both took out to lunch to this DELICIOUS crepe place, showed us around the city, brought us to the foundation, and were so helpful in telling us how to do what we were interested in doing on the weekends.
The foundation is also an amazing and inspiring place. There are two different foundations run by Globalteer, but the one I am working on is more like an orphanage. Almost 60 children actually live there for the better part of the year. Most of the children lost parents in the war, have drug-addicted parents, etc. Since it is holiday and sort of in between sessions of school, more than 30 of them are home with their families right now, so our trip their was quieter than it will be once they all come back. The people who originally founded the program are actually from Colombia, Lucy and Louis. I met Lucy and she is also a bright and wonderful spirit. She and her husband spent the better part of their lives trying to make a better life for kids on the street, and this place that they were able to raise the money to buy just recently got funded and helped out by Globalteer, thanks to Sam. They literally go out on the streets and entice children to come to their foundation by spending weeks and months just inviting them to play sports and slowly getting to know them and earning their trust. The children spend that time still living on the streets, but once they realize what a great place Anchoras is to live, they go back and tell their friends, and hence there are now almost 60 children there. There are full time cooks and people who clean the place, and the volunteers like me are there to teach the children English and play with them in between. I will be at the foundation from 9-4 everyday following a specific schedule, and we have curriculum books, but they leave a lot of creativity to us and have the children separated into groups by ability. There are 3 other volunteers, 2 from America, that I will be working with.
Everything always seems to fall into place so nicely for me, and I am so eternally grateful for these opportunities. I literally found out about this program by clicking an ad on cnn.com (and I NEVER click ads!). The people that I have met are radiating with nothing but love and are so appreciative of everyone who helps them. I can not imagine a better place to spend my time. I can only imagine the lessons, patience, and gratitude I will learn from working here for the next 4/5 weeks.
I AM SAFE AND I AM SO HAPPY THAT I AM JUST BURSTING. Thank you, God, family and friends for this opportunity!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.212s; Tpl: 0.023s; cc: 5; qc: 44; dbt: 0.1868s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Ilana
non-member comment
your blog from day 1 made me cry.... although I guess that isnt THAT hard to do!! But still... how touching!!! I am so happy for you and I can't wait to hear more. I wish I could be with you and I hope we will have an adventure together in the future. YOu are a beautiful person. I love you and I'm glad I exsist. p.s. Life over on this side of the world is good. Starting to feel a bit homesick but it comes and goes!! Continually challenging myself and growing a tougher skin. p.p.s. yesterday I went skydiving!!!!! again :)